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Michigan wheat farmers have the Michigan Wheat Program’s assistance when it comes to identifying wheat that is diseased, yellowed or fails to thrive.
To help identify the cause of these problems, the Michigan Wheat Program has partnered with and funded an innovative program with Michigan State University’s Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. The program, begun in mid-2013, allows wheat farmers to submit samples free of charge to the lab which diagnoses general crop health, cultures fungal and bacterial pathogens, tests for viruses, analyzes nematodes, and detects and identifies insect pests.
In many cases, the lab recommends mitigation or crop improvement strategies, which are sent to farmers by e-mail for rapid implementation.
At the end of each growing season, the lab reviews all wheat samples looking for trends or possible new disease or pest issues. This allows the Michigan Wheat Program’s research program to quickly identify new issues facing wheat farmers and fund additional research if it looks as though there is a trend or new issue.
Farmers with a wheat sample for analysis should download both documents below. One is instructions for submitting samples, and the other is the MSU Plant Diagnostic Lab’s submittal form that must accompany the sample.
Download instructions:
2024 Wheat Sampling Instructions
Download form:
2024 Wheat MSU Diagnostic Services Submittal Form
If you’d like a brush-up on best practices for collecting a high-quality sample to send to the diagnostic lab, watch this video by Dennis Pennington, MSU wheat specialist.
The Michigan Wheat Program is a state-check off program voted in by the state’s wheat farmers to assess each bushel of wheat grown and sold. The funds from the program are utilized to further the wheat industry in the state benefitting the state’s nearly 8,000 wheat farmers who grow about 450,000 acres of wheat annually producing about a 40 million bushel crop.